Vice President JD Vance sparked controversy and backlash after posting on social media that President Donald Trump has accomplished more to save Black lives than any leader in American history, tagging New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie in the process.
Vance made the statement on June 29, 2025, writing on X that he was sure leaders and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement would join him in celebrating Trump, who he claimed has done more to save Black lives than any leader in the country. The post came in response to his own message on Bluesky about Trump’s role in brokering a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
The Vice President has been actively posting on Bluesky, where he has only 14,000 followers compared to 4.4 million on X. He spent the week engaging with the platform’s left-leaning user base, including posting congratulations to Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Many have speculated that Vance created his Bluesky account primarily to provoke Democrats.
Vance described the treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda as truly historic, a sentiment that politicians on both sides of the aisle have agreed with. However, not everyone agrees that Trump was the driving force behind the peace agreement, and some worry the years-long conflict may continue. If peace is maintained, experts indicate it could spare tens of thousands of African lives and enable millions of displaced people to return to their homes.
The response on Bluesky was swift and critical. Users challenged Vance’s characterization of Trump’s legacy, with one commenter stating the claim was an outright lie. The response noted that while celebrating a small victory might be acceptable, the exaggeration of Trump’s accomplishments would not be tolerated on the platform. Another user pointed out that Department of Government Efficiency-induced chaos in the early days of the current administration has led to deaths in the developing world, particularly citing cuts to USAID affecting infants.
This latest statement adds to a pattern of controversial comments from Vance throughout his political career. The Ohio senator has previously made statements about suburban women and reproductive rights that drew criticism. In August 2024, he told Fox News that he did not believe it was normal for suburban women to care about their reproductive rights, suggesting they should focus on what he called normal concerns that most Americans share.
Vance has also faced scrutiny for past comments about childless Americans, particularly targeting what he termed childless cat ladies who he claimed were miserable in their own lives. These remarks resurfaced during the 2024 campaign cycle and became one of his most widely criticized statements. He has since attempted to walk back some of these comments but continues to express views suggesting that people without children should face consequences for their status since they have less stake in the country’s future.
The Vice President’s history of provocative statements extends to his views on voting rights, having suggested that people with children should receive additional votes in elections. These positions have drawn criticism from various quarters, including educators and family advocacy groups.
Vance’s approach to social media engagement appears to be part of a broader strategy to maintain visibility and provoke responses from political opponents. His posts on Bluesky have been characterized as trolling, with the platform’s users generally disagreeing with his political positions. The contrast between his follower counts on different platforms highlights the partisan nature of social media engagement in contemporary politics.
The claim about Trump saving Black lives represents one of the most direct attempts by the Vice President to reframe the previous administration’s legacy on racial issues. Critics have noted that such statements appear designed to provoke rather than engage in substantive policy discussions. The decision to tag a prominent Black journalist in the post has been viewed by some as particularly provocative given the context of the claims being made.
